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United Reformed
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulted from the 1972 union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales. In introducing the United Reformed Church Bill in the House of Commons on 21 June 1972, Alexander Lyon called it "one of the most historic measures in the history of the Christian churches in this country". About a quarter of English Congregational churches chose not to join the new denomination; in England, there are three main groups of continuing Congregationalists: the Congregational Federation, the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches and the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. The URC subsequently united with the Re-formed Association of Churches of Christ in 1981 and the Congregational Union of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be growing errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it. Protestantism emphasizes the Christian believer's justification by God in faith alone (') rather than by a combination of faith with good works as in Catholicism; the teaching that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only ('); the priesthood of all faithful believers in the Church; and the '' sola scriptura'' ("scripture alone") that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Most Protestants, with the exception of Anglo-Papalism, reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, but disagree among themselves regarding the number of sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and matters of ecclesiasti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The 60% smaller island of Ireland is to the west—these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, form the British Isles archipelago. Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland, Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about , making it the world's third-most-populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The term "Great Britain" is often used to refer to England, Scotland and Wales, including their component adjoining islands. Great Britain and Northern Ireland now cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. The English church renounced papal authority in 1534 when Henry VIII failed to secure a papal annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The English Reformation accelerated under Edward VI's regents, before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip. The Act of Supremacy 1558 renewed the breach, and the Elizabethan Settlement charted a course enabling the English church to describe itself as both Reformed and Catholic. In the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Roman Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs. The later phases saw the Penal Laws punis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Covenant
The English Covenant was a proposed merger in England of the Church of England, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church (URC), and the Moravian Church. First published as an ecumenical initiative in 1980 after extensive discussions in the 1970s, it eventually failed because the Church of England rejected the covenant in 1982. In 1972, a Churches' Unity Commission was set up by church leaders. The commission published ''Ten Propositions on Visible Unity'' in 1976, and suggested the creation of the Churches Council for Covenanting (for Unity). Responding to this document, five churches agreed to proceed with a plan for unity – the Church of England, the Methodist Church, the URC, and the Moravian Church, and Churches of Christ (which merged with the URC in 1981). The plan was generally welcomed by the Methodist Church. The URC, an ecumenically-spirited denomination created in the same year as the commission, approved the initiative and sought to reorganize itself accord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares an open border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2021, its population was 1,903,100, making up about 27% of Ireland's population and about 3% of the UK's population. The Northern Ireland Assembly (colloquially referred to as Stormont after its location), established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the UK Government. Northern Ireland cooperates with the Republic of Ireland in several areas. Northern Ireland was created in May 1921, when Ireland was partitioned by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, creating a devolved government for the six northeastern counties. As was intended, Northern Irela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fellowship Of Independent Evangelical Churches
The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 639 independent, evangelical churches mainly in the United Kingdom that preach an evangelical faith. History The FIEC was formed in 1922 under the name ''A Fellowship of Undenominational and Unattached Churches and Missions'', but was later renamed ''The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches''. The Fellowship brought together many independent churches and mission halls, which had been somewhat isolated. The FIEC is in the Independent tradition. According to the National Director of FIEC, "An ‘Independent’ church is self-governing. Each individual local church has ultimate control over its own affairs. It does not belong to any external body or institution which has control over it." The FIEC leadership claims it exercises 'something comparable to the sub-apostolic' ministry of Timothy and Titus. Some trace the routes of Independency to separatists, such as Robert Browne in the time of Eliz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evangelical Fellowship Of Congregational Churches
The Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC) is an association of around 120 independent local churches in the United Kingdom, each practising congregationalist church governance. The EFCC was founded in 1967 by those evangelical Congregationalists who did not want to lose their independence with the formation of the Congregational Church of England and Wales and the subsequent formation of the United Reformed Church in 1972. The EFCC is an Affinity partner. The EFCC churches share a common doctrinal statement, called the Basis of Faith, which is Reformed and Evangelical. As the EFCC churches are congregational, the EFCC does not have any denominational hierarchy. However, the Fellowship does have officers, including a ministry director. Some of their churches are also in membership of the Congregational Federation or of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 639 indepe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congregational Federation
The Congregational Federation is a small Christian denomination in Great Britain comprising 235 congregations, down from 294 in April 2014. The Federation brings together Congregational churches, and provides support and guidance to member churches both financially and otherwise. History The Federation was formed in 1972 from those Congregational churches which did not enter the union of the Presbyterian Church of England with the Congregational Church in England and Wales to form the United Reformed Church. The leaders at the time were Reginald Cleaves, Margaret, Viscountess Stansgate, John Wilcox and Elsie Chamberlain. Margaret, Viscountess Stansgate became the Federation's first President. The Federation was expanded in 2000 by member churches of the Congregational Union of Scotland that chose not to join their merger with the United Reformed Church. It is a member of the International Congregational Fellowship, an international network of Congregational churches and thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Lyon (politician)
Alexander Ward Lyon (15 October 1931 – 30 September 1993) was a British Labour politician. Early life Lyon was educated at West Leeds High School and University College London. He became a barrister, called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1954. He was a member of the Bar Council and of the Fabian Society. He was also a Methodist local preacher and secretary of Leeds North West Constituency Labour Party. Political career Lyon was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal City of York in 1966, having first fought the seat in 1964. He was Minister of State at the Home Office, March 1974 – April 1976, but, as a radical, was sacked by Jim Callaghan. In 1971 Lyon introduced the United Reformed Church Bill, which became the act which created the United Reformed Church from a union of Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches in England and Wales. In a debate on 4 August 1980 he became the first MP to use the phrase "chuntering from a sedentary position", later used b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Bill
Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single person, group, or area, such as a bill granting a named person citizenship or, previously, granting named persons a legislative divorce. After a bill is enacted, these bills become public acts and private acts, respectively. Private law can afford relief from another law, grant a unique benefit or powers not available under the general law, or relieve someone from legal responsibility for some allegedly wrongful act. There are many examples of such private law in democratic countries, although its use has changed over time. A private bill is not to be confused with a private member's bill, which is a bill introduced by a "private member" of the legislature rather than by the ministry. In practice, a (technically) public act can have the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Commons Of The United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament (UK), members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament is dissolved. The House of Commons of England started to evolve in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1707 it became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the Acts of Union 1707, political union with Scotland, and from 1800 it also became the House of Commons for Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, political union of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the body became the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the independenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congregational Church In England And Wales
The Congregational Union of England and Wales brought together churches in England and Wales in the Congregational tradition between 1831 and 1966. The Congregational churches emerged from the Puritan movement, each church operating independently and autonomously. The movement grew with the Evangelical revival of the 18th century, and in urban areas following the Industrial Revolution. Despite their independence, many churches built links with each other, and several county unions of churches were formed. In 1831, the Congregational Union of England and Wales was established. It had no authority over the affiliated churches, but instead aimed to advise and support them. By 1901, it claimed 400,000 members and 2,806 ministers. That year, its chairman, Joseph Parker, proposed that the churches set aside their independence to become the "United Congregational Church", but the idea was rejected. The Congregational Union was based at the Congregational Memorial Hall in London fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
